State refutes allegations of deliberate delay to help profit pvt organisation

31 Jan 201905:19am IST

31 Jan 201905:19am IST

The lower courts have been housed in privately owned building “Spaces” and the opposition has accused the govt of going slow on the Merces court complex

Team Herald

PORVORIM: The State government has refuted allegations by the Opposition bench that completion of District and Sub-ordinate court complex at Merces is deliberately delayed to ‘give profit’ to privately owned building ‘Spaces’ at Patto Plaza where some lower courts are housed.

Leader of Oppositions Chandrakant Kavlekar’s attack on the government came during a starred question on the number of courts operating from the government and private premises. “The government is delaying the project (Merces court complex) so that it can extend the lease to Spaces building. The government wants to give profit to some agency (referring to the owner of the private building),” he said during the discussion on day-two of the session of the legislative assembly on Wednesday.

Minister for Law & Judiciary Nilesh Cabral denied the allegation while attributing the delay to constant change in specifications by the committee overlooking the project. “I will pursue the matter in the right earnest and ensure the construction of the courts complex at Merces is complete, by April 1, 2021. However, we are an execution authority. There have been hurdles like change in the plan in the past because every time the committee that comprises of High Court Judges too changes, the specifications change. If the committee does not change the plan from time to time, the project will be completed within the time frame,” he replied.

Congress MLA Alexio Reginald Lourenco backed his party leader stating that the delay in the construction of the courts complex is a serious issue.

The Courts Complex will house 19 Courts with GSIDC already commencing its work on October 6, 2016. In the written reply to another question on the shifting of the court to the government premise, Cabral stated that on completion of the project, the Courts housed in the government premises as well as private premises in Panjim and at Mapusa will be shifted to the new venue. The 19 Courts will comprise of Principal District & Sessions Court, five District & Sessions Court, three Fast Track Courts, two Civil Judge Senior Division, four Civil Judge Junior Division and four Additional Courts.